About Me

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Carrollton, Texas, United States
Welcome to my blog! My name is Beth Carpenter! I am a 2nd grade teacher at Coyote Ridge Elementary. I majored in Early Childhood Education and have taught for 22 years. I have taught grades K- 3 which gives me a unique ability to know where my second graders fit within those grades. Teaching is more than a profession to me, it is a calling. I love to help light the fire of curiosity to help all my students become lifelong learners!

Schedule

Math 8:00-9:30 Brain Break 9:30-9:40 Enrichment 9:40-10:30 Guided Reading 10:30-11:30 Lunch 11:30-12:00 Writer's Workshop 12:00- 1:00 Recess 1:00-1:30 Reading/Social Studies 1:30-2:00 Science 2:00-2:50 Pack/Stack/Dismiss 2:50-3:00

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Winter Party Fun!












Week 16b

Dear Parents, 
          Even though this was a short week a lot was accomplished. In math we continued on with our two digit addition/subtraction on the number line and written in the up/ down form so the students will be ready for regrouping upon our return. In reading we read some more gingerbread stories as well as holiday stories. We compared them, answered questions about them and were able to put facts in order to summarize the stories. In language we wrote an expository piece on how to build a snowman and a fiction piece where we designed our own snow globe world to live in – imaginations went wild! In science we finished up our unit on rocks by taking our assessment and by writing a narrative piece entitled “ Everybody needs a Rock”. WE had so much fun at our Winter Party and the school wide sing along. Check out our class blog for pictures! 
             Thank you so much for the gifts and kind notes you sent me! Your kindness means more than you know! I love teaching your children and watching them get excited about their learning! Seeing them take charge and set their own goals is my reward! We have graphed our iStation scores. They have analyzed their progress and can’t wait to come back in January to up their score!

                 Wishing you all a Winter Break full of love, family, and memories in the making! See you all in January!

Thursday, December 15, 2016

Week 16a

Dear Parents,

            Well it is three days away from winter break! This week we worked really hard on addition, subtraction, using a hundreds chart to solve problems and two step problems. The assessment was taken on Thursday. In language we continued to learn about the plural forms of nouns: adding s, es, changing y to I and adding es and irregular nouns such as foot/feet. In reading we read Click Clack Moo Cows That Type and compared it to one of that author’s similar books! Ask them about the Duck Character. He truly is a character! In science we had a wonderful time exploring rocks. We weighed them , measured them, observed their properties, tested whether they would float or sink, tested if they could be scratched by a nail or penny, and tested if they would bubble when a drop of vinegar was put on their rocks. In social studies we have been reading Gingerbread stories and even tasted gingerbread! There will be no spelling words next week.

Friday, December 9, 2016

Perot Field Trip was so much fun!






Art Show was a big success! Thank you Ms. Rios!





Week 15

Dear Parents,
          This week we had to really focus on getting back to our routine. The children had a much needed Thanksgiving Break, but came back excited about the holiday season. Please help me keep your child focused on school as the sugar plums are dancing in their heads. Encourage our nightly math/reading logs , the homework that comes home as well as reading our story of the week from our reading book which comes home on Mondays and Wednesdays. It is also important to practice the sight words listed on the newsletter, the math facts that have been coming home, as well as the spelling words each week. I appreciate your support!
          We continued our math focus on solving addition and subtraction problems using our TO boxes as well as our hundreds chart. In language we wrote a personal narrative about our holiday traditions and we started learning about plural nouns. In reading we continued working on our nonfiction text feature books as we read our reading story of the week Jellies. We learned the difference between facts and opinions. In science we finished up our unit on movement and took our assessment on Thursday. On our student journal a few students wrote “ I love science!” The hands on exploration has them really interested in all our science curriculum! In social studies we are learning about the westward movement/exploration of our early settlers in America and how we are a nation of immigrants. We continue to work on our holiday gifts to you including wrapping paper and cards!


  • Please send in $3.00 cash for the holiday party. This money will be given to a room mother in another class to buy the supplies for our party. We still do not have a room mother. Please feel free to attend our holiday party to help me run the party.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Killian Mentors came!





Week 14

Dear Parents,
                  The children came back from Thanksgiving Break eager to get back to learning! The classroom this time of year is so much fun to teach. The children understand their responsibility in the classroom and we have become a family, helping and taking care of each other. We continued in math this week with ordering numbers and creating open number lines to place three points on from least to greatest. We then began Topic five on adding up to four two-digit numbers. In Language we’ve been focusing on Proper Nouns. We then used them in our writing. In reading we’ve been learning about nonfiction text features and are using them to write our own book! In Science we have continued our unit on forces talking about pushes and pulls. We painted with marbles, traced the paths of spinning tops and saw how some objects rolled, slid, or spun according to their physical properties. They really enjoyed making our own version of a roller coaster! In social studies we are continuing to learn about early America, the thirteen colonies, George Washington, and Stephen F. Austin.
                    We are all looking forward to our field trip to the Perot Museum next Friday!

* Killian Middle School Mentor Day was today! Look at our classroom blog to see some pictures of this great opportunity for second graders to be mentored by older students in our feeder pattern!

Friday, November 18, 2016

Our Paw Award Winners:Braxton and Athulya


Week 13

Dear Parents,
    Excitement was in the air as the children realized that Thanksgiving is next week! We had some great learning going on this week none the less! In math we learned how to compare 3 numbers and order them from least to greatest and greatest to least. We also compared two numbers and learned the signs for greater than, less than, and equal to.We finished up the week with our assessment. In writing we finished up our How to make a turkey papers and created a special handprint as a gift to you. We also reflected on what we were thankful for and wrote about it in our journals. In reading we were learning about making inferences as we read poetry and as we read stories. We learned to take the clues from the text, add it to our background knowledge and make an inference! In science the children had lots of fun working with magnets. The experienced magnets repelling and attracting each other. They also learned what type of objects are magnetic and what objects are nonmagnetic as the dug in sand to find hidden treasure! In social studies we have been learning about different Native American tribes and how their lives were different from each other based on the climate and natural resources around them.

  • Please send in the Perot Field Trip Form and $8.00 for your child’s admission ticket at the latest the Monday we return from Thanksgiving Break. If you are chaperoning your ticket will also cost $8.00. Be sure to have completed your LISD background check as the office staff will be checking your status. 
  • Thank you to all the parents who brought their children to the PTA performance! Our class did a great job!

Friday, November 11, 2016

Week 12

Dear Parents,
    Another busy week of learning occurred as we finished up our third week of the second nine weeks. In math we finished up our unit on composing and decomposing numbers to 1,200. We began our next unit on comparing and ordering numbers. In reading we focused on the story Goat in the Rug which fit in perfectly with our language and social studies lessons. The story used time order words to explain how the goat was made into a Navajo rug! In language we learned time order words and how we use them in expository writing. We ate an Oreo cookie and wrote about the steps it takes. We are working on our next expository writing which is “How to make a Thanksgiving Turkey”! These will be made into a special placemat which will go home next Friday! In science we finished up Unit 4 

on Energy, Light, Heat, and sound. We took our assessment on Thursday. In social studies we learned about the election and what it means to vote. We voted on November 8th. In our class it was 17 for Hillary Clinton, 3 for Donald Trump. It was an exciting election, but I feel we will have several disappointed children as their favorite candidate did not win the election. We also began a study of different Native American cultures. We read poems, read nonfiction about them, and looked at maps where they lived.

  • Please send in the Perot Field Trip Form and $8.00 for your child’s admission ticket by Wednesday next week. If you are chaperoning your ticket will also cost $8.00. Be sure to have completed your LISD background check as the office staff will be checking your status.
  • Today’s Veteran’s Day program went well. I will be posting a picture and some video to show second grade’s performance sometime this weekend. Marley’s mother Shammara was one of the veterans we honored. Thank you for coming!

Friday, November 4, 2016

Week 11

Dear Parents,
             In math we learned how to compose, decompose and write numbers to the thousands place in many ways. We looked at clues and figured out which numbers could or could not be our mystery number. We had fun learning about folktales as we read How the Chipmunk got His Stripes  in reading.  We got to write our own folktale and we made a class book. In writing we learned about who veterans are and why we celebrate Veteran’s Day! We read a play and wrote letters to the veterans who will be visiting our school on November 11th! Some students wrote a Veteran Acrostic Poem to enter the CRE poetry contest. In science we’ve been learning about sound, light, and heat energy. We did some interesting experiments in a dark closet! Ask your child what we did! In social studies we’ve been learning about the upcoming election and what a big responsibility voting is. We had another lesson I was not counting on … I got to explain about the duty of a voter to serve on juries as I had jury duty this Thursday and was not at school. I was happy to serve for the day, but was relieved to be back in my classroom on Friday. 
Have a great weekend!
  • Don’t forget to turn your clocks back on Saturday night for DayLight Savings Time!
  • Please send in $8.00 per student and the permission forms for the Perot Museum Field trip
  • I still need two chaperones to come with us to the Perot Museum


Friday, October 28, 2016

Wafa Jailani was our last week's Leader of the week!

Braxton met his book character!


Week 10

Dear Parents,
        Thank you so much for all you did to make this a special week for your children! From getting them ready for each of Go Red Week, to helping them dress like a story book character and completing the pumpkin projects! Everyone got their pumpkin in on time and all presented. I’m holding on to them a bit longer for grading purposes and to display their hard work!
        In math we were assessed on our problem solving skills and we began a new chapter on numbers with three place values. We are practicing writing those numbers in standard form, expanded form, word form and drawing models. Thank you for keeping up with your children’s math and reading logs. New math flash cards went home tonight for next week’s quiz!
       In reading and writing we focused on the holiday themed books and created writing projects with each. We were also assessed on our knowledge and ability to write four kinds of sentences. We learned the life cycle of a pumpkin, measured pumpkins , weighed pumpkins, ate pumpkin pie, imagined what monster could live under my bed (to go along with the book :), told when we were Crankenstein, and wrote the beginning, middle and end of Spookly the Square Pumpkin! A lot of learning and fun was had by all!
   Enjoy your weekend together!
* Grades are ready on skyward. If you requested a paper copy, please sign and return the envelope.

*One of our class actually got to meet his book character!Check out the picture attached of Mrs. Cervantes and Braxton!

Friday, October 21, 2016

Week 9

Dear parents,
                I can’t believe we finished our first nine weeks of school! Our classroom is up and running and the students know what is expected of them. In math this week we were working on story problems, both addition and subtraction. We used our part/part/whole to decide what kind of problem we were solving. Them we set up the problem making sure that we lined up our tens and ones. We solved our problems many different ways. We even began borrowing from and carrying to the tens place. 
                 In language we were learning the four different kinds of sentences. We are great at writing statements, questions, exclamations and commands! In reading we read the story The Ugly Vegetables. The children learned about details helping us form a conclusion. They saw pictures of the Chinese vegetables. They were interested to see how they looked as compared to how the author described them.
                 In science we talked about changing matter. We changed a flat piece of paper into an airplane and even got to watch it fly! We used materials to build a structure that would hold a cotton ball as high off our desks as we could manage. The winning group had it 51 cm off their desk. We learned that some materials were better to build with than others. E cannot wait until our next challenge!
                In Social studies we worked all week on planning our communities. We brought in materials to build with and talked about which would be best and fit on our boards. Then Thursday was building day! Our communities turned out great! I would love to put all the pictures on our classroom blog, but I still have not been given permission from some parents to post pictures. I will take pictures of projects and the members who I know who can be posted. If your child is missing, please e- mail me to give me permission to post your child’s photo on our blog. These will be posted next week.

                Part 2 of our Pumpkin Project was due today. Four of my students did not turn theirs in to me. Please check to see if it was your child and help him/her turn in his/her story map on Monday. Those that did turn it in, got it checked and given back to help them complete part 3. A few children were asked to revise their story map to retell the story giving a beginning, a middle, and an end. Part 3 went home in today’s coyote folder. There is a title sheet, the written report page ( if there were no corrections, your child copies his/her story map onto the new sheet, leaving the rectangle at the top empty. Next Friday I will take a picture of each child with his/her finished pumpkin and book to be put in this spot! Please remember to send the actual book with the project. I can’t wait to see all the book character pumpkins next Friday!

Friday, October 14, 2016

Our Next Leader of the Week!


Week 8

Dear Parents,
               This week flew by! We finished up unit two in math, learning how to read a story problem and decide if it is addition or subtraction and using a fact family to solve problems!In writing we are focused on writing complete thoughts and what kind of ending mark should go on a sentence. We mainly focused on statements and questions, but next week will learn about exclamations and commands. In reading we enjoyed Teacher’s Pets . We talked about the story elements and even played a dice game that tested our knowledge. Writing about our favorite pet or one we’d like to have was fun! In social studies we learned about Columbus Day and continued on with our leader in me activities. We are learning how to take care of ourselves so that we can do our best!In Science we finished up changing matter and took our assessment on Friday.
                The pumpkin project blueprint and list of supplies needed to make their pumpkin was due today. Each section of the project is part of the grade. Four students did not turn in part one of the pumpkin project. Points will be deducted for late assignments. If your child did not turn in part one today, please make sure that they have it on Monday - Please help your child turn in his/her project parts on time. Part 2 of the pumpkin project went home today in your child’s coyote folder. This story map will be due Oct. 21st.
        * We   have a new lunch time on early release days. The students eat at 10:25. We recommend sending your child with a packed lunch because we anticipate delays with trying to get all 6 grades through the lunch line.


Have a wonderful weekend with your family. I hope to see you and your family at the Fall Festival tonight at 6:00!

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Week 7

Dear Parents,
       We had another wonderful week of learning! In math we have been working with a math tool called a part-part-whole box to practice number families, solve addition stories, solve subtraction stories, and to decide if a word problem is addition or subtraction.
         In writing we wrote fall stories using sensory words to describe things we see, hear, smell, touch, and taste in the fall. We met with friends to revise and edited with the teacher. We then published our stories which now are hanging in the hallway on display. We wrote two short poems this week. One in honor of American Indian Heritage Day, and another about spiders.
         Since our reading story was The Diary of a Spider we practiced our spelling words by having a spider race! We got spider rings and had a spider snack as well!
         In social studies weve been studying communities and are going to be picking our favorite community to build. Please start saving empty cereal boxes, small cartons or anything you can think of to help your child build a model of a community at school on a foam board. These three-D projects will be made by groups. They will pick from urban, rural, or suburban communities to build as a group. 
          Our leader of the week habit was sharpen the saw. This four day weekend will help our students do just that! They will eat well, rest, play, and spend quality time with your family!This will recharge them so that they can come back ready to learn some more next Tuesday!

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Week 6

Dear Parents,
   First things, First! There is no tutoring after school on Monday as I have a class to go to to learn more about expository writing! I am excited to get more writing ideas to teach in my classroom. My before school student can still expect to be greeted at the door at 7:00 A.M. Monday morning.
    We had another wonderful week of learning in second grade! We finished up our first unit in our math book and took our assessment. In math we were using ten frames to look at numbers and their parts. We could solve addition and subtraction problems with this math tool. We also used    our part/part/whole boxes to help us discover the number families like 6+7=13, 7+6=13, 13- 6=7, and 13-7=6! We are getting good at using different tools to help us think and solve problems.
     In writing we are beginning stories about the Fall, learning about topic sentences, details, and conclusions as well as revising our writing using examples, sensory words, similes or metaphors. Ask them about my writing of the messy room!
     In reading we enjoyed our story Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon and wrote about the beginning, middle and end of the story to summarize.
     In social studies we learned about Habit Six: Synergize! Together is better! We also began our unit on community. Please start saving empty cereal boxes, small cartons or anything you can think of to help your child build a model of a community at school on a foam board. These three-D projects will be made by groups. They will pick from urban, rural, or suburban communities to build as a group.
      
Your conference times are located in your child’s Coyote Folder. Please mark your calendar and a reminder will be going home the night before we meet!
  • PLEASE reply to this e-mail by writing only your child’s name and the word YES if I can post pictures of your child on our classroom blog or NO if you would rather I not post any pictures of your child.( I have only had 10 parents reply so pictures cannot be posted on the blog)
  • A blue link to our blog is in my signature line below. I post pictures of classroom activities, field trips, assemblies and learning opportunities we have in our room. I will not post any pictures of your child until I have permission from you. I have five parents who have not responded. Please let me know.
  • *If you would like to donate an item from our wish list, we could use more indoor recess board games, boy treasure box items, or girl treasure box item. The treasure box has been dipped into a lot with all the good choices being made and red tickets being earned! :) Thank you so much to Dylan and his parents for donating to the treasure box! The children were excited to see the new items.
Our CRE Fall Festival is coming up on Friday, October 14th! We will be having a silent auction in the CRE library. We
 need your help to make baskets for our auction. Each grade level will be submitting 2 or 3 themed baskets to auction off. We chose the theme family movie night. We are asking for a donation of $3.00 per child. Please get this in as soon as possible as
I

Have to go buy the items for the basket and get it ready by Oct. 14th!

Friday, September 23, 2016

Week 5

Dear Parents,
          We had another great week of learning together! We now have 19 children in our class. I am so happy that Fallon has joined our second grade class! 
         In math this week we have been finding missing addends, using ten frames to solve addition sentences as well as adding and subtracting three numbers using number strings or making it a two step problem! These are hard concepts, but I feel that all of my students are understanding what steps to take to solve these types of problems.
          In writing we are learning the steps of the writing process. We have generated lots of entries in our writing notebooks. Now it is time to pick one and take it through the writing process!
          In reading we have been doing reading comprehension worksheets, reading a just fit book with a partner and completing a project on the book while I finished up my DRA testing!
          In science we have started a new unit called classifying matter. We are describing things by their physical properties. We described a popsicle, a melted popsicle, a frozen gummy worm, a room temperature gummy worm, a blown up balloon and a deflated balloon. We talked about how some properties change when heat is added and how some stay the same.
           In social studies we have been learning about our Fifth  habit of leader in me. We seek first to understand, then be understood! These habits have really got my students thinking about their choices!
            Please make sure your child is practicing his/her spelling words at home as spell checks cannot be retaken if a student fails. We practice our words Monday through Friday at school in many fun ways, but some students have not been ready on Fridays for their test.
  • *If you would like to donate an item from our wish list, we could use more indoor recess board games, boy treasure box items, or girl treasure box item. The treasure box has been dipped into a lot with all the good choices being made and red tickets being earned! :) Thank you so much to Dylan and his parents for donating to the treasure box! The children were excited to see the new items.
*Fall pictures went home in your child’s coyote folder today.
* Please turn in the form with your three top choices for conferences. First turned in, first scheduled! :)

Our CRE Fall Festival is coming up on Friday, October 14th! We will be having a silent auction in the CRE library. We need your help to make baskets for our auction. Each grade level will be submitting 2 or 3 themed baskets to auction off. We will be sending home

 more information on Monday for your classroom basket. We appreciate all of your help and support!

Friday, September 16, 2016

Our First PTA meeting Prideful Paws




Our first Super Kid!

                                       

Week 4

Dear Parents,
           My class is doing so well learning the class routines and rules! They are getting compliments wherever they go! (and Coyote Coupons!) Two weeks ago 12 students did not do their homework. Last week everyone , but one child turned in their homework on Thursday! That child had done it, but forgot his/her folder, so it was brought on Friday! I am so proud of all of them. I need your help, however, getting your child to fill out his/her math and reading log. He/She is to read 15 minutes a night and practice math flash cards 10 minutes a night Monday through Thursday. They turn the folders in on Friday. I still have several children not completing their logs. This is considered a homework responsibility.
        
If you would like to donate an item from our wish list, we could use more indoor recess board games, boy treasure box items, or girl treasure box item. The treasure box has been dipped into a lot with all the good choices being made and red tickets being earned! :)

         Thank you for supporting our school with pledges for the Boosterthon Fun Run! Our class collected $909 to help our school! They all ran their hearts out as fun was had by all!
          Another way you could support our school is to join the PTA. Another form went home today in your child’s coyote folder. If you fill out the form and pay the fee to join, that money supports many special school activities throughout the year that will benefit your child in many ways. Last night was our first PTA meeting. There was a family dinner for those who attended the meeting. Pizza, cookies, and a drink were provided by the PTA. At the meeting they announced that each teacher will receive $40 to spend at this year’s book fair to purchase more classroom books! There is so much more that the PTA does. I have joined as well. I feel that together we can do great things!
  • Check your child’s folder for his/her first progress report!
  • If you would like to be a chaperone on any of our upcoming field trips, please go to lisd.net and complete a background check. They can take more than            three weeks to be processed!
  • Check out our blog to see pictures of our first Prideful Paws!

Thank you again for partnering with me! Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, September 9, 2016

Week 3

Dear Parents,
                    This week just flew by! Your second grader is doing a great job with their second grade responsibilities! They are following our classroom rules and being kind and respectful to everyone. This week our Counselor Mrs. Moore came to visit. She let them know that she is always available to the children at our school when they need to talk. She also talked about school behaviors and how to be the very best student that they can be.
                     We have been working with skip counting in Math by 2’s, 5’s, 10’s and 25’s. We are focusing on place value and breaking our numbers up into tens and ones. We have also been incorporating money using dimes and pennies. We are focusing on reading the questions, and making sure we answer what is being asked by using the right math language.
                     We have been working on visualizing something in our head, then writing about it. We also listened to a story and visualized it in our minds without seeing the pictures, then drew our own picture and wrote.
                     We focused on family in reading and social studies and made a shutter book project. We also took our second reading comprehension test/ vocabulary test. Reading the story with your child twice a week when the large reading book comes home and doing the vocabulary homework with your child, helps him/her prepare for the reading test. We also honored our first responder teams as we learned about 9/11. We wrote a PEACE Acrostic POEM.

                       In science we focused mainly on our safety rules and earned our science safety licenses. Ask them about our science Gummy Worm investigation! We had fun working with partners. The children also graded themselves on how they feel they are doing in science. On the back they had an opportunity to set some goals. Look for the smiley face rubric.

Boosterthon Fun Run!




Thursday, September 1, 2016

Boosterthon Pep Rally!


Week 2

Parents, 
          We had another great week of learning! My second graders are learning their routines, my expectations, as well as how to challenge themselves. Things are going smoothly and lots of quality work and assessments are being done! 
              In math this week we focused on odd and even numbers. This group seems to get the concept already! In writing we are learning about nouns and writing about people, places and things that are important to us. 
              In reading we enjoyed the story Henry and Mudge. We took our first reading and vocabulary assessment. If a child gets below a 70% they may retake the test. 
              In science we learned about what scientists do and our safety rules. If your child has not had you sign the safety contract and signed it themselves, please do so and return the paper to school so your child can earn his/her safety license. 
              In social studies we learned the Leader in Me habit of "Begin With The End In Mind”. We thought about the goals we wish to set for the end of second grade. Then we thought of three things to help us reach the goal that was most important to us.I know when we work together we can help each child reach their goals.

            Thank you again for supporting our school through the Coyote Ridge Fun Run!

This weekend we are issuing a special challenge. Visit funrun.com to see the bonus prize your child can earn simply by getting a total of $2 per lap in new pledges (or $60 in flat donations) this weekend only.

And if you’re looking for an easy way to ask for a pledge, create your very own Student Star Video by uploading a photo of your student to funrun.com. It’s a fun movie trailer starring your child! You can share it on email or social media to ask for a pledge.

Thank you again for helping our class.

PS - If you haven’t registered your child on funrun.com, use our school registration code: 254966

  • PLEASE reply to this e-mail by writing only your child’s name and the word YES if I can post pictures of your child on our classroom blog or NO if you would rather I not post any pictures of your child.( I have only had 10 parents reply so pictures cannot be posted on the blog)
  • A blue link to our blog is in my signature line below. I post pictures of classroom activities, field trips, assemblies and learning opportunities we have in our room. I will not post any pictures of your child until I have permission from you.
  • If you would like to donate an item from our wish list, we could use more indoor recess board games, boy treasure box items, or girl treasure box items.
  I sent a form home on Monday in your child’s blue folder asking for classroom volunteers, at home volunteers, and a room mom. PTA would like to know our room mom for this year. Please let me know if you can help in any way by filling out the form. The room mom position needs to be filled as she helps plan the holiday party and the Valentine”s Day party. Two moms can split the duty.  I appreciate all you do to partner with me to ensure your child has a fun, learning filled year!

I hope you enjoy the long weekend with your families!

Video Fun!


                                               

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Week 1

Dear Parents,
        We had a wonderful first week of school! You children are getting into the routines of second grade. We discussed rules and will be soon creating our class mission statement. We began talking about the Leader in Me program and learned what it means to be proactive. I already see leaders blooming in my room! In math we are learning our problem solving routine for each day and have been taking a beginning of year assessment, so I know your child’s strengths and skills to be focused on in the upcoming weeks. We assessed your child in spelling as well, and placed him/her in the appropriate spelling group. A spelling list will go home with your child on Monday in his/her blue daily folder. We will practice them at school, but please practice these words Monday-Thursday at home as the spell check will be on Friday. 
        We will be reading a story from our reading book next week. The book will go home for your child to read the story on Monday. You can see the vocabulary from the story on the back of the newsletter that went home in your child’s coyote folder on Friday. If you misplaced the newsletter, one is attached to this e-mail. The book will also go home on Thursday night, as the comprehension test and vocabulary test will be on Friday. Reading the story can count as the minutes on their green reading log for Monday and Thursday. New math flash cards went home on Friday in the green Math/Reading log. Please practice these facts all week and mark it in the log. A quiz will be given each Friday. I average three of these quizes to equal one math grade. That way if they do not do well on a quiz, there are two more chances to pull up the grade. I appreciate you partnering with me at home so that your child will be successful in his/her learning. Everyone brought their Math/Reading logs in on Friday. Your child received 8 stars on the folder if it was completed for the week. If there is a line where a star should be, please help your child make up these missing days. For week two you fill in the second box of four lines, one per day Monday-Friday. This will again be turned in on Friday. Sight words were also on the newsletter. These words will also be checked each Friday. Your child just has to be able to read the 10 words.
           Thank you for coming to Meet the teacher and Parent Orientation! If you were unable to come to the orientation, I sent the second grade information packet home on Friday in your child’s coyote folder. There are forms inside for you to fill out and return to school. If you were unable to come and would like to volunteer, please fill out the form I will be sending home on Monday  This form will explain how you may volunteer from home or here at school. If you would like to be our room mom, please let me know by e-mail as soon as possible as we have not gotten one as of yet. We are off to a great start!

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Week 1

I am really looking forward to meeting all of you tomorrow at Meet the teacher! We have 22 students in our class! We are going to have a great year of learning together!

Friday, May 27, 2016

Week 36

Dear Parents,
    This week we stayed on course with our studies! In science we took our last test over plant characteristics. In Math we finished up graphing and took our end of the year CBA. We read our last story and took our comprehension/vocabulary test on Thursday. In writing we are working on fabulous endings and began writing about second grade memories.We completed our Bell Books for social studies and they are going home today along with our poetry books.
     I want to take this time to thank all of you for sharing your children with me this year.! I have seen so much growth and I am proud of each one of them for his/her hard work, problem solving, and creative thinking that went on in second grade. We have learned so much together and have become connected through these experiences. I appreciate all the help I received from home. Your willingness to partner with me in your child’s education has made all the difference. These last few days are always bitter sweet. I love watching my fledglings fly off and soar on their own, but I will miss each one deeply!
                                                                                                                                                                    Have a nice long weekend together and a great Summer!

                                                                                                                                                                                                

Friday, May 20, 2016

                                               Red Team had the loudest cheer!
Field Day Opening Ceremony!




Week 35

Dear Parents,
    Wow! It is really winding down! The children have loved focusing on poetry this week in reading and language. Look for their poetry books to come home next week. Each child wrote five poems. The are definitely keep sakes! In math we are finishing up with graphing and will take our end of year CBA next week. We have learned so much this year! I know they will all do their best! In Social Studies we finished our Bell Books and will create the cover and send it home next week. We learned a lot about our national symbols and landmarks. Please have your child share all that he/she has learned. In science we finished up animal characteristics and took our last assessment! It has been a fantastic year of learning. I know all my students are ready for third grade!

     
*If you are coming to our end of year assembly you have to bring in an ID. We will collect IDs in the office and give them back as you leave.
        

*Librarians from the Carrollton Public Library visited CRE this week and shared with students about their summer reading program. Please see the attached flyer for more information. Summer Reading will begin on June 2 and end on August 21. The Carrollton Public Library will offer fun prizes, free books, and cool programs to attend.  New this year, they will have a prize drawing for all who complete a reading log. 

Friday, May 13, 2016

Week 34

Dear Parents,
        We finished up our end of the year testing in reading and writing this week. We will soon be tested on our Spelling stages as well as the end of the year CBA in math. Please help by encouraging your child to stay focused and ready for school each morning. It is easy to let summer dreams creep in a little early! We want to finish strong! 
        In math we have been measuring in inches, feet, yards, centimeters and meters. We have also used nonconventional tools like blocks and paper clips. In language we have taken our pronoun assessment and are beginning a unit on poetry which will continue in reading and language next week. In science we have been learning about animal characteristics and behaviors. We are also creating our own super animal! We continue to work on our bell book and map skills for social studies.
         We have been excited about our ePortfolios. Most students have entered three items with a video explaining why they chose that piece or project and which 21st century skill it shows! My new students will have at least one entry and video. This portfolio will be added to each year until your child graduates!
               

*Your child will be brought home a packet to complete an animal habitat and report at home. They have already chosen their animal. No need to go out and buy anything! Your child may take construction paper, tagboard, and white paper to draw on to create their habitat. This project should be child created. Usually shoe stores have extra shoe boxes that they will give you. Research for the animal can be on the internet or take them to the library to get a book! These are due next Wednesday!